Shoigu was granted the award for his contributions to the creation of an emergencies situation monitoring and prevention system in Nicaragua that had helped save thousands of lives by providing timely warnings of approaching natural disasters.
At that time, Shoigu served as Russian Minister of Emergency Situations.
Shoigu is currently on the second leg of his three-day Latin American tour. On Thursday, the defense minister told reporters in Managua that several bilateral agreements have been signed aimed at expanding military-technical cooperation between Russia and Nicaragua. The agreements include simplified procedures allowing visits of Russian warships to Nicaraguan ports.
Russia is actively pursuing cooperation with Latin American countries, particularly in the sphere of defense, which includes sales of weaponry, construction of naval maintenance and resupply facilities, as well as the occasional use of local airbases for hosting Russian strategic bombers on global patrol missions.
Russia's increasing cooperation with Latin America comes amid NATO's military expansion in Eastern Europe, a tendency that has raised concerns in Moscow.
